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Tuesday, June 10, 2008

My grandmother gave me one of her old cookbooks thinking there would be recipes in there that would work with the Feingold diet that we're on. Most of my cookbooks use prepackaged ingredients (like cans of soup, etc.) that have artificial additives or preservatives. This cookbook, copyright 1931, uses whole foods with no commercially prepared shortcuts. BTW - I have nothing against shortcuts. I love shortcuts. I've always looked for any shortcuts I could find to help me in the whole "making a decent dinner for a family of eight" thing. It's just that I'm trying to cut out all artificial stuff (at least where Jackson's concerned.)

Sooo, I was paging through this 77 year old cookbook and a section labeled "sandwiches" caught my eye. A whole section on sandwiches? For real? The beginning of the chapter actually explains what a sandwich is. The following is from the sandwich chapter:

"Sandwiches are made of one of more slices of bread or toast, spread with a flavorous filling.There are two types: closed and open. A closed sandwich is made by spreading a filling on one slice of bread and covering it with a second slice. An open-faced sandwich is made by spreading the filling on a slice of bread and serving it without placing a second slice on top.Any open-faced sandwich made with meat should be served with a well-seasoned hot sauce.The filling may be a single food or a combination of foods. It may be softer or it may be firmer in texture than the bread.Ingredients used in making fillings should be selected for flavor. They should have an appetizing appeal."As opposed to making disgusting, unappealing sandwiches.

It goes on to talk about how to slice loaves of bread. For you real younguns, bread didn't come pre-sliced in plastic bags back then.

Sandwiches in my life consist of peanut butter or turkey and cheese with the occasion tuna or chicken salad. I searched through this section and was amazed at the "sandwich" combinations in there. It was as if someone opened their cabinet, closed their eyes, reached in and grabbed out the first 4 things they found. They proceeded to mix them together, spread it on bread, and call it a sandwich. Anyway, in no particular order, here are ten of my favorite (and by favorite, I mean "most interesting") sandwiches from this cookbook.

9. BAKED BEANMash baked beans. Add finely chopped pickle to suit taste. Moisten with mayonnaise until of spreading consistency. Use as a filling between slices of whole wheat bread. If desired, a relish spread may be substituted for the mayonnaise and chopped pickle. Minced onion, and catsup may be added.Oh good - I'm glad you can add catsup. It would be just gross without that.

8. PRUNERemove stones from dried prunes which have been cooked until tender. Drain. Chop prunes. Combine with an equal quantity of peanut butter. Moisten with lemon juice, honey, or mayonnaise to a spreading consistency. Add a few grains of salt. Mix thoroughly. Use as a filling between buttered slices of whole wheat or white bread.Use in place of Alli

6. TONGUE CHICKENArrange thin slices of tongue on hot buttered toast. Spread with mayonnaise. Cover with slices of chicken breast. Cover with a second slice of buttered toast. Serve at once. If desired, lettuce and sliced tomato may be added.I don't know how to spell the gagging noise I just made.

7. SARDINERemove bones and skin from 10 sardines. Shred sardines. Moisten with mayonnaise dressing to a spreading consistency. Add a few drops lemon juice and 1 teaspoon melted butter. Mix thoroughly. Use as a filling between slices of whole wheat or white bread. Mmmmm, imagine the tasty goodness!

6. GRAPENUT1 c. Grapenuts1/4 c. grated cheese1/4 t. paprika1 t. dry mustard2/3 t. salt1 T. catsup5 drops Tabasco sauceCombine ingredients. Mix thoroughly. Use as a filling between buttered slices of bread.I've never been fond of breakfast cereals that look like rabbit pellets, but maybe I've just been doing it wrong. I simply need to add cheese and Tabasco to it!

3. BOSTON BROWN BREADPrepare steamed brown bread. Cool overnight. Cut in thin slices. Spread with cream cheese which has been moistened to a spreading consistency with cream and catsup, or mayonnaise.Steamed brown bread? Anyone? Any clue? Anyone? 2. TOASTED CHEESEPlace thin slices of cheese between slices of bread. Toast in oven or in toaster. Serve at once.Seriously? They needed directions for this?

1. MARSHMALLOWPlace plain or chocolate covered marshmallows between crisp crackers. Press firmly together. Serve at once. If desired, the marshmallows may be toasted before they are placed between the crackers.Yes, we call this a s'more in the 21st century.

I have actually heard of steamed brown bread...actually I think I've heard it called Boston Brown Bread. If it's the same thing you make it in tin cans in a pressure cooker. I've never made it but a customer that comes to the bakery/coffeehouse where I work keeps telling me about it and how she's going to bring me the recipe. I think the recipe just might be a figment of her imagination because she has yet to bring it to me! = )

Those sammies sounds hilarious by the way...and something I would NEVER eat.

Hi Dawn, I guess I am the First to leave a comment? LOL !!! Love the recipes. I must say...Everyone must Own ....The Joy of Cooking...The book. It not only has recipes, It tells you anything you want to know...say about? Nutmeg? How is it harvested? Bark from a tree? Kristine in Michigan,

OMG the only thing that sounds remotely appetizing was the toasted cheese. FYI I remembered that my husband's great aunt used to make Brown Bread in a can. We would pretend to "LIKE" it. ICK...ICK...ICK. Good luck finding anything that will work on the Feingold Diet.

ROFL!!! This is as funny as the site my friend sent to me that shows Weight Watchers recipes circa 1970. I was seriouly laughing out loud at this one!

Oh, and the answer to this: "I don't know how to spell the gagging noise I just made." My best attempt was "aaahhuuucckk". I actually had an uncle that used to do the sardine sandwiches. I made that same sound back then, too.

Are you serious? These are recipes from when? EWWWWWWWWWW! Blech! Yuck! That's all I have to say! LOL--you seriously crack me up Dawn! For the record my Father used to eat peanut butter with onion or bologna. I still gag at the thought!

That's so hilarious!It reminds me of my Mom's old 50's Betty Crocker cookbook. I couldn't stop cracking up when I read how you should "brush your hair and apply some fresh lipstick" to make yourself look pretty for your husband before he comes home from work. It wasn't worded exactly like that, but pretty close! Funny stuff!!

Oh my... I am seriously laughing myself silly for two reasons.... first, your commentary on the recipes. Second, uh, my grandfather used to do the onion sandwiches and something very similar to the sardine sandwich, but he did that one on saltines. I still eat sardines on saltines.... it's really not much different than tuna sandwich filling when you mix it up with mayo.... honest.....

Apparently in the early 20th century, people had not yet developed tastebuds. Either that or the english language has morphed to the point that "apricots" would be more accurately translated today as "roast ham".Rhonda

I love old cookbooks! Those sandwiches crack me up. Although don't all kids like gross sandwiches though?

Oh and ummm I have to admit that my family does something really close to deviled peanut and it's YUMMY. ham, cheese, pickle, red pepper, onion, mayo, egg. Put it on a bun and cook it for 25 minutes. Yum yum yum yum yum! It does sound gross though, doesn't it?

O.K. maybe I am old (turning 40) but my mom actually used to make brown bread and it's really good..I am going to check that link because she can't find her recipie! I think, Dawn that you have stumbled onto the perfect "diet" plan. Whenever you are hungry, just choose one of those sandwiches...I bet you drop 20 pounds in like 1 week...hee hee hee

But boston brown bread? My mom used to make that when I was a kid. My mom is in her late 70s now. She made it in a can -- a coffee can maybe, or a soup can? I can't remember. It is a very moist, sweet bread. Very delicious! And spread with cream cheese sounds yummy.

If you love the crazy stuff in old recipe books, then you will LOVE The Gallery of Regrettable Food by James Lileks. Unfortunately, he's now published it in book form, which means it's no longer available for free on his site. :-( Your loss. But seriously, if you have $16 to blow, it's worth it.

Oops! Left this in the wrong comment section ... anyway, my Mom and Dad still like to eat the baked bean sandwich on white bread! They both say they remember thier Moms eating it, too. No pickles tho, or whatever else is in the recipe. Baked beans (right out of the can) and white bread is yummy!

Great post, lol! Some of those would have sounded really good to me while I was pregnant. Except the tongue sandwich. *gags and wretches*

Boston Brown Bread is really very good, especially buttered slices eaten with homemade baked beans. I've made this while we were camping, and everyone really enjoyed it.

It sounds as though those recipes were probably submitted by frugal folks that lived through the depression era, making use of whatever they had on hand. My grandma and her siblings, who grew up with fruit and nut trees in their yards, often made chunky nut butters and added dried fruits for a little kick of flavor. She much preferred those 'odd combinations'of sandwiches to processed lunch meats and other 'junk' food, as she called it.

Hmm.. My dad loves this Boston brown bread - if it's the same thing i'm thinking of, they sell it at the grocery store (in ours it's with the soups I think) and it comes in a CAN. Yes, brown bread in a can! Maybe that's the stuff they're thinking? I can see it wamred with cream cheese or something... (Not that I would eat it or anything....never have tried the stuff!)

Yikes! Are these depression recipes? The horseradish and onion sandwiches might even work for birth control..LOL!I had an old cookbook from my mother that had recipes calling for bowlfuls of flour and butter the size of an egg. Of course, it also had you test the heat of the oven by placing a piece of paper on the rack. If it was a nice brown after five minutes the oven was "just right". If it turned black, the oven was too hot!

Wouldn't mind trying out the sardine one either, but that marshmallow thing sounds horrible (yes, really)

Brown bread I make, it's got syrup in it, and has to bake in the oven, very low heat, for 12 hours. People up here that have a hot spring in their garden (yes, in certain parts of the country, that actually exists) bake the bread in there, it's really yummy!

As a dutchie, I have never heard of that dutch lunch and quite honestly I don't think I'd like to try it! Apart from all the descriptions already given here, there's probably a section on breads in the book too and it can probably tell you how to make it. I have a book similar to yours that was originally written in 1910 (although I have the 16th print), that was the cookbook for the Amsterdam Household School. From back in the days that girls didn't have to learn an occupation, but had to learn to run a household before they got married! LOL (If only I could have gone to it, then maybe my house wouldn't be such a mess!)

Ohmygosh! My mother has that very cookbook. She's had it for years and it's become mostly a place for her to store her loose recipe sheets. She's coming for a visit this week, I might have to convince her to bring the book with her.

I'm not so sure I'd put the cheese on the toast before it went into the toaster. It wouldn't fit like that in mine anyway. Also, I'm too lazy to clean the mess. Thanks for posting that, Dawn. Those sandwiches are a riot.

Boston brown bread is made with lots of molasses and two or three kinds of flours. My grandmother always put white flour, oat flour and corn meal in hers. It can also be made with rasins in it, not my favorite. It is traditionally served with homemade baked beans on Saturday night in old fashioned New England families, mine included. It is made in a small coffee can set inside a large coffee can filled 1/3 with water and covered with foil.

Leftovers were served for breakfast Sunday, as cooking was considered work and not allowed on the Lord's day of rest. It must have made for some very ummm...musical church services.

Brown bread can be bought in the baked bean isle, probably the top self. It is very good toasted with real butter or cream cheese.

As for the baked bean sandwiches, yup, I have seen my family eat those too. I have been told they are great. *SHUDDER* I can't bring myself to find out for sure.

Just 2 comments:1. As a New England girl now living in the Midwest, I happen to know that Boston brown bread spread with cream cheese is delicious, and tastes kind of like date nut bread. If you can't find it at Jewel or Dominicks, I'm sure you can buy it (in a can) online!2. Both my parents and inlaws grew up during the Great Depression, when baked bean sandwiches had to substitute for meat, and this cookbook (written in '31) sounds just like their Depression-era resourcefulness when it comes to food. If the economy keeps going south, maybe we'll be eating a lot more prune and apricot and onion sandwiches!

I love old cookbooks. I have one that is REALLY old too. One recipe in it calls for possum. It goes into great detail about shooting it and gutting it and so on. Its quite gruesome. THere are several recipes for squirrel and such too. Sounds quite appetitizing NO? Ughhhhhhhhhhh. Give me McDonalds anytime

Well if the book was published in 1931 that was two years into the great depression. I suppose these sandwich recipes an indication of what foods were most available at the time and how to put them to use. Makes you appreciate things today, doesn't it? Or maybe it should make us even more fearful of the way our economy is heading! *eek* After getting over the barf factor I actually found this post to be quite interesting. Thanks Dawn!

The sardine one doesn't sound that weird (maybe it's cultural thing, here in the UK that's a pretty common sandwich filling =) but the others.. Wow! I like pineapple and cheese on sticks but as a sandwich? With OLIVES?! =X

Am I the only one that thought Scrabblequeen's comment about the Boston brown bread in a can was funny....the name of the company was B&M...thank goodness for the "&". Maybe I'm just warped but after a few comments about some NOT liking the bread BM brown bread gave me a chuckle!

These were Great Depression recipes from 1929-1940s. My parents/grandparents ate these same things during this time. My Dad tells of hunting along RR tracks for anything hobos might have thrown off the trains.

One grandmother ate radish and butter sandwiches and ate raw onions like they were fruit.

My Dad raised all of us 8 kids eating sardine sandwiches and baked bean sandwiches. We kept up the sardine sandwich, but admittedly, the baked bean sandwich fell by the wayside. Eating sardines on crackers was a luxury that we were afforded as kids; in Dad's time, crackers weren't available.

To this day, I still like sardines and have found whole websites devoted to sardine recipes.

Dawn,If you think that cookbook has a crusty old nostalgic feel check out these! I didn't find these myself, but AI always pass on this site to food lovers, they are weight watchers recipe cards circa 1974. Talk about hilarious, the comments are great! My favorite is rosy perfection salad, who knew Jello could be used in a main course huh? Enjoy!

http://www.candyboots.com/wwcards.html

email me if you want to be invited to my blog, im 10 weeks preggers with my first and documenting the whole thing, your a big role model to me, one of the reasons I started blogging. jennifer.lleras@gmail.com

You can still buy Brown Bread, at least around here (Massachusetts). It indeed comes in a can. There's a ton of molasses in it, which makes it both very sweet and dark brown. Raisins are also included. I'm not sure about the Chicago area, but it's usually in the section with the baked beans in the grocery store. I hated it as a kid, and most likely still do.

Those were appalling. What was the author/"chef" thinking??? I suppose it WAS in the age of the depression. "Syrup sandwiches...mmmm!"

So they had an explaination of what a sandwich is, but left "prepare steamed brown bread" all up to your own devices? Nice.

I'm interested to see the decent recipes out of that book. We are anti-preservatives around here and try to buy as little processed foods as possible. Don't forget to post the recipes that your family eats and enjoys!!!

Yes, Boston Brown Bread. Never had the homemade kind but you can get it canned (in where else Boston) or at least you used to. I think you can find it where the Boston Baked beans are. Made by the same company B&M. http://www.buythecase.net/product/9264/bm_raisin_brown_bread/?bcf=1. It's actually pretty good.

I have the same cookbook. Mine is a later printing in 1977. Just in case you are wondering all the recipes are still there. I say we serve prune fluff to drink with the prune sandwich to make a complete meal (I mean trip to the bathroom).

Boston Brown Bread is whole wheat bread made sweeter with Molasses and Raisins. There are tons of recipes for it, if you google it. Sounds really good! I may make some once I get a working stove back in the house. Good thing it's summer, and the neighbors won't think I'm TOO wierd for grilling EVERYTHING we eat!

Hmmm....maybe they were on to something back then. If this is all there was to eat now, the obesity level wouldn't be so high. I think this is my new diet. Thanks Dawn. I'm off to buy me some sardines, tobasco, baked beans and tongue!

I have a 1946 Lily Wallace cookbook that has some truly wonderful things in it, but also has a recipe for opossum in which you first place the dead animal in your freezer for a day before removing the hair an stewing it!! YUMMY!

My mom used to make Boston Brown bread when we were growing up. It's got a batter similar in consistency to banana bread batter, and it's stemed in large tin cans in a large dutch oven filled with water. It's a sweeter bread than regular wheat bread, and it's very good spread with real butter and homemade jam. Think I'll go google the recipe.

I'll add my yuck for the tongue/chicken sandwich. At first I thought we were talking about a chicken-tongue sandwich. I was thinking, "Man, they'd have to mute a whole bunch of chickens just to make one sandwich."

For the record: I think it's a mistake of your publisher to put off the release of your book. I know you're at their mercy, but I think one should always strike while the iron is hot, and I think your popularity is pretty strong at the moment.

I just had to add that serious comment to my usual less than serious thoughts.

Brown bread is an old favorite of mine - you can still get it at the grocery store. B&M makes it with or without raisins (I like it with raisins in). It's bread in a can! Sliced thick, buttered, and broiled until the surface caramelizes, it's the perfect accompaniment to hot dogs and baked beans.

If you make it yourself, it requires a recipe (duh!), a large coffee can, and is steamed in the oven to bake it - hence the "steamed brown bread".

Yeah, I just buy it at the store and freeze what I don't use right away. Hmm...I have some in the freezer, and I'm a mite peckish...

Get a bowl. Dump crab mean into bowl. Mix contents of Kool-Aid packet with crab meat. Attempt to not puke during this process.Add enough mayonaise for spreading consistency. Crumble boullion cube and add to mixture and then spread on bread. Because, really, you can't make it any worse than it was to start with.

You must have made the same gagging sound that I made! What were these people thinking! My Grandma would have appreciated these recipes. During the depression era you had to make things with what you had! I am so glad we live in better times!

I grew up eating boston brown bread. My Mom would buy it at the store, not sure they make it anymore, but it came in a can, like baked beans. She would warm it, slice it, and serve with beans and ham. I think I just dated myself. Yup, I am old!

My mom used to try all sorts of bizarre combinations and recipes when we were little. We didn´t have much money, so sandwiches were a big thing. :D

She made steamed brown bread a few times in old coffee cans. I don´t remember how, just that I didn´t like it much! Except for the fact that it was round and had lines like the can.

Our favorite sandwich as kids was . . . the hamburgerless hamburger. Take a slice of bread. Spread with relish, mustard and ketchup. Top with another slice or not. Enjoy. :D My sister and I invented that one after the hamburger ran out one night.

I have a bartenders book from my grandpa, dated 1899. It is very clear on how to get drunk, how to cure a hangover, and how a lady should drink! Maybe the creator of the sandwiches had instructions from this book because some of the hangover solutions were nasty sandwiches!

I can remember my mom making Boston Brown Bread for holiday dinners when I was really young. She used either a coffee can or large soup/veggie can and steamed them over a pan of boiling water. Then they changed how cans were made (the sides were no longer straight) and started coating the inner surface. You can't use those to make Boston Brown Bread so she stopped making it. I can't remember what she made it with or what it tasted like. I seem to remember liking the smell when it was cooking but not the bread itself.

Um *abashed* actually, several of those don't sound so bad at all. However, I am the mother of the "turtles n cheese" 12 year old, so maybe his insanity has rubbed off?

I used to have tomato ketchup sandwiches as a kid.

The BEST sandwiches in the WORLD are made thusly:

1. Take 2 slices really unhealthy gooey white bread.2. Spread liberally with butter.3. Place chips on one slice. Lots of chips. Any flavour, but my personal favourite is salt and vinegar. Pile 'em high4. Smash chips down with other slice. Make sure a ton spill out all over your plate so you can eat them too. Also, pile more chips from the bag around the sandwhich. MUCH more than the "one serving size" haha that they print on the bag.5. Eat. Enjoy.

Boston Brown Bread is delicious and is in a large can in the baked bean section of the grocery store. Cut off both ends of the can and slide it out. Cut it into slices, keeping the shape, wrap it tightly in foil and heat at 350 for 20-25 minutes until warmed through. Remove from oven and foil. Slather on lots of butter and enjoy. It's like a dessert, very sweet like a muffin with raisins. Yum. It's also good served with any fish and baked beans.

You've created a new diet! Just post this list on the fridge and any time you're tempted to eat anything just read this. I see a ton of responses on here so don't know if someone else found anything about the steamed brown bread but found this link:http://www.care2.com/greenliving/steamed-brown-bread-recipe.htmlThere are actually a lot of 'em so if you want to try to make it just look in a search engine................................Just kidding!

OK, remember, people used to eat ALL of whatever they had...horseradish? gotta give it some flavor!I worked in a Polish Deli when I was in College, There is NOTHING worse than slicing "Blood & Tongue" or "Head Cheese"...eww.Just the sound alone kept me away from that stuff. My Grandfather was #5 of 12 kids...they grew up on a farm...they ate everything!I can still remember my parents and grandparents sitting up late, playing cards and nibbling on "pigs knuckles"...yuck

I have a suggestion that might be more appetizing for your family... are you familiar with the SAVING DINNER series? check out www.savingdinner.com (also featured on www.flylady.com)She provides a full week menu with downloadable shopping lists. 75% of the shopping list is vegetables, and very few processed foods (canned tomatoes and beans are about it) I vowed to make them in order, and try them all... kids have liked most of them so far.

I think I understand why no one has repeated those recipes since 1931. One thing we used to eat was date nut bread with cream cheese. It came in a can like the brown bread (and it was brown - I'm wondering if it's the same thing). I can't find date nut bread here, but then again I can't find a lot of things here in east Boondock, so that doesn't mean they don't make it anymore.I used to be fascinated about trying British food, until I found out that Black Pudding was made with . . . well I won't tell you, you've been grossed out enough for one day.

Those were very interesting... thanks for sharing... although I don't think I will be trying ANY of those. Did you find any recipes that you could actually use? That is neat to have a cookbook that is that old.

Everyone else has summed up Boston Brown Bread pretty well--and it would be good with cream cheese, but I would NOT thin it with catsup!!! blech!!!

Check a used bookstore for an older copy of The Better Homes and Gardens red checkered cookbook (something pre-80's and not to be confused with Betty Crocker's cookbooks). The older versions were pretty much all non-packaged ingredients. I learned to cook using my mom's (I think hers was a 50's or 60's edition) and everything was made with straightforward, non-packaged ingredients.

Hi Dawn,funny you bring up brown bread - my mom used to serve this when I was a kid, and I saw it at the store the other day - yes it comes in a can - and it was never one of my favorite things... I'll have to buy more to see if I like it as an adult...

I'll share one of my favorite sandwich recipes - I found this in a cookbook - and it is delicious!!!!

TurkeyMayoDash of curry powderapricot jam

Yea, I know it sounds weird, but it is YUMMY!!!! I look forward to this with my turkey leftovers at Thanksgiving!

My mom taught cooking for 27 years - she passed away last year. My brother and I split her recipe book collection - and we found some GREAT books just like this one you have!!!! We've had a few laughs! Enjoy!!!

I HAVE GREAT NEWS FOR YOU!!! A few weeks ago you mentioned in a post that you couldn't get your scanner to work with vista. I was having the same problem and have now figured out how to do it. Open Windows Photo Gallery, go to File>Import from scanner or camera. As long as your scanner is connected to your computer you can scan! YEA!

We followed the Feingold Diet for years! It was fairly easy to do once I got used to it, and we homeschooled so I had a lot more control over what they ate. However, once the kids got into their teens it got harder and when we stopped homeschooling... impossible!

The kids often request some of our favorite Feingold meals. All of our absolute favorite (and many guests that I've served it to) is:

Cinnamon Pear Pork

Brown however many thick boneless porkchops you need

Carmelize a ton of onions, sliced

Babyfood Pears (or if you are on Stage 2, regular applesauce)

Layer in crock pot... Pork, pear or applesauce sprinkled with cinnamon, carmelized onions. You only need to put a tablespoon or two of the sauce on each porkchop. Turn the crock pot on low and your house will smell wonderful!!!

The pages in the cookbook had stuck together and she combined two VERY different recipes. Had you of not shown the actual recipe here in your blog, I would have thought the same thing happened to those sandwich recipes.

I think I noticed a trend to use ketchup as an ingredient in pretty much every recipe! (or catsup, as it was spelled back then.) I was wondering, do you think this is how Ronald Reagan decided that ketchup was a vegetable? Maybe he actually used some of these recipes!

This is like the 1940s cookbook that I got from my grandma. There's a section on how to prepare sandwiches for school lunches, how much milk a child needs a day, even how much food a grown man should have depending on his job (office worker or farmer or laborer).

Dawn,If you need some really good recipes, let me know. My son David was diagnosed with celiacs disease years ago, so I have had to make MANY foods fresh. I have some really great bread recipes, although nothing like that Boston Brown bread. (LOL)Do you have a bread machine?Debi

wow, hold onto that cookbook! my friend finds cookbooks like these all the time at estate sales and sales them for crazy $$$$ on amazon... what a great book!Any votes for a Keylime sandwich, graham cracker crusts?

OK guys - I grew up using this wonderful (?!) recipe book. It's entire name is the Household Searchlight Recipe Book and "...was printed in 28 editions, reaching a distribution of 2,400,938 by the year of its last printing in 1958."That is when I began using it, at age 6. When the Capper's Weekly Newspaper reprinted and offered it again beginning in 1977 - I bought 12 copies for my 8 sisters, 2 brothers and a new one for my mom. Her old book now belongs to one of my older sisters and every time a page is turned, a tiny piece of clay-like paper breaks loose. My younger sister Kathy and I would make a quadruple batch of Popcorn Balls (page 79) and after wrapping each one in waxed paper, we would hide about half of them in the bottom drawer of our dresser upstairs. When we were able to go up to read we had a ready stash to gorge on, that no one else knew about. My sister mastered the Penoche recipe on pg74, and my mother made it for us every Christmas. The basic Cream Pie recipe (pg 207) is still my husband's favorite for banana cream or coconut cream pie. I know it is a very funny and mostly gross recipe book, but this brought back such fond memories of it and my favorite newspaper, The Capper's Weekly. The Capper family was a prominent Topeka, Kansas family. I loved reading the newspaper with its farm wife written letter/anecdotes, a serial story, a very small "World News at a Glance" column. We should have that now!! Thank you for bringing back such awesome memories. The cookbook has explanations for all sorts of different permutations of a recipe. What is the difference between a Brown Betty and a Crumble. When is it Jam, Conserve, Marmalade, or Preserves? I'm telling you ladies - you are going to want one of these cookbooks for your very own. : ) What a trip down memory lane. I am only 55 years old, too.

When I was younger (8-9 years ago) my friends and I had a sandwich that we made alot. It was called The Chocolate Sandwich. We'd take white bread )only because they don't make chocolate,lol) and spread chocolate peanut butter on them, add a handful of cocoa krispies, a drizzle of chocolate syrup, and some chocolate chips. We'd then wash it down with a big glass of chocolate milk! Ah..fun times!

Try http://www.foodtimeline.org/ for seriously weird and/or inspiring recipes. I love reading it when I run out of cooking ideas. Of course, I'm deep into Medieval cuisine, but food history is fascinating!

That's awesome! I'm going to have to dig around through my cookbooks and find something interesting. LOL

As far as weird sandwiches go, my favorites are: Lettuce sandwich (yup...just lettuce and white bread - nothing else), and spaghetti sandwiches. That last one may not be too weird, as we eat bread with our spaghetti all the time. My DH looks at me like I'm a fruitcake when I fix one, though!

Butter the bread. Pour contents of one pixy stix on each slice of bread.Sprinkle handfuls of Cap'n Crunch cereal on each slice of bread.Smash cereal down with your hands. Carefully put slices together, and enjoy!

I've been down the whole Feingold Diet route. It was very effective for my son, and I still highly recommend it. Do you have the "official" handbook/cookbook? There is a recipe in there for spaghetti sauce, made with beets. Don't try it--I did and it was awful.

My best source of recipes was a cookbook published in 1944, when rationing was still in effect. Loved it, and still use the cookbook today. My fave section? Cooking for large crowds -- 50 or more.

I have a cookbook that was published here in Oklahoma that has recipes from the turn of the last century called "Seems Like I Done it This Way". It has all kinds of things in it including how to cook oppossum, rattle snake, squirrel, turtle stew, etc. I use this cook book so much the front and back covers are now gone. It has great recipes in it but it's not for the beginning cook because the recipes don't always tell you how to put it together or they say a "pinch" of this or that. I love knowing that if the tornadoes leave me homeless I at least know how to cook wild rodents...maybe I should put that cookbook in my survival pack.

My favorite cookbook is the Joy of Cooking by Irma Rombauer, circa 1933. These old books are a wealth of information and do include some strange combinations of food - but I have never prepared a recipe from "Joy" that we didn't want to have again. The combo of the apricots and Tobasco isn't really all that weird. Have you had BBQ hot wings? Very similar flavor! Enjoy your "sammiches"!

Me again! Sorry - I forgot the Boston Brown Bread - B&M brand baked beans used to sell Boston Brown Bread in the same sized can as their baked beans. We would open both ends with a can opener and push the bread out of the can by pushing the metal lid on one end. This bread is a very rich flavored, moist, dark brown sweetbread that is almost dessert fare. I haven't bought any for at least 10 years so am not 100% sure they still make it, but it is worth the trouble if you like whole grain or sweetbreads. I'd omit the catsup (not a tomato fan) but the cream chees is awesom with this bread.

Good heavens, I have this same cookbook! I have a 1941 version. It still has the tongue chicken sandwich, among others. Must have been pretty popular. *shudder* lol! I remember my grandma feeding us tongue sandwiches when I was little. And cod liver oil, but we won't go there, ok? :D

Most of those sandwich recipes are so bizarre! But the brown bread, now that's really good. It's sweet, made with molasses. I helped my mom make about a gazillion little loaves of it - yes, you make it in tin cans - to give away as Christmas gifts one year. Better than fruitcake! :-)I'd never put ketchup on it though, but it's great with cream cheese.

Oh my goodness. Yes, they did sound a bit strange, but not all that disgusting. I think I might be checking this post out again to maybe try one of these sandwiches.

Actually a sandwich a friend of mine told me about is a hot pepper sandwich.Take white sandwich glue, I mean bread.Take the skinny, long hot yellow peppers(sometimes called cubanelles). slice in half length wise, deseed & saute until as browned as you like them, best to start skin side down. After sauted, pour a bit of water in & cover to steam them. Pull peppers out of pan, place on bread, salt peppers & put mayo on other slice. Eat & enjoy. It isn't as spicy hot as you would think! Yum.-Gail

OK, there are alrady 131 comments here, so I'm SURE somebody has told you, but...steamed brown bread is sold as Boston Brown Bread in the stores, usually on the same aisle as the baked beans. (I think H&M makes it?) It's cooked in a can, it has raisins in it, and it's AMAZING when spread with just as much butter as it will hold. We used to slice it up, toast it, and then slather it with butter.

One more comment about old cookbooks. I have a Family Reunion cookbook from a family in Franklin County Virgina (that I'm told is birthplace of the white lightnin' runners that ultimately became NASCAR)that includes a recipe for making moonshine. My favorite part of the recipe is when it reaches a certain stage and looks like an oilslick, you're supposed to lightly skim a finger across the top of the liquid. If the streak glows white it's done and ready to pour into jugs.

If you like that then you'd love the gardening book I have from the around the same era. Every time it mentions lifting a pot or digging a hole it always suggests "getting your husband or a friendly neighborhood gentleman to help." I love it.

To Dawn2,I also have the same book, "Seems Like I Done it This Way".I purchased it in the early or mid eighties at a craft fair called War Eagle Craft Fair.I bought it from the author of the book. She signed it for me.It is one of my most treasured cook books. Yes, it does have some pretty weird recipes..lol. It also has some very good recipes. I found a lot of recipes that are similar to the way my Mother cooked.